Baby, Oh Baby!
by Penelope Applegate
Summary: Iroh wants a grand-niece-or-nephew. Mai is considering it. And Zuko? Well, Zuko just might be losing his cool.
1. Chapter 1

_**Quick background: this fic is dedicated to meandcartoon22, who actually won a one-shot but whose constant reviews were and are great motivation for my writing wanderings. So it turned into less of a one-shot and more of a short fic, with a lot less smut than originally intended, but I rather liked the idea. Also, I just gave up on all three of my massive-fics and need a lil ATLA comfort. Enjoi!**_

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Iroh wanted a baby.

Not for himself, of course. His time had passed, long ago. Of course, he would never forget his dear and only biological son, Lu Ten, but a very special bond had been forged between himself and the current ruler of the Fire nation. He had helped Zuko grow from an immature, angry little boy into a strong, honorable man, and he was very proud of his determined nephew's achievements thus far. And yet... there was just _one_ more thing...

"A _baby_?" Mai echoed in blank surprise. Zuko's dropped jaw and wide eyes mirrored his wife's facial expression. He sat in stunned silence next to her on the divan across from Iroh's rather large and comfortably plush chair.

"Of course!" Iroh insisted jovially, seemingly oblivious to the way Zuko's heart had stopped at the mere mention of becoming a father. "Babies are wonderful! They are life's greatest gift. One could not live a complete, full life without at least once experiencing the joy of parenthood."

Mai quickly recovered her composure and, in fact, did so much faster than her husband. "I just don't think right now is a good time to be thinking about children," she replied coolly, placing her hands in her lap with a calm that nearly fooled the former army general. However, he was not a young boy, and he was much wiser than he may have looked.

"Ah, but you are _wrong_!" Iroh solidly maintained, pointing a wrinkled, pudgy finger in her direction. "You both are in your early twenties, yes, but you have everything you need to care for a child. Your children would not want for anything in this palace. Would you not like to share that with another human being?"

The flicker across Zuko's face told Iroh that the young Fire Lord was recalling his own childhood in the very same palace, and certainly not in a fond manner. His elbow was resting on the arm of the divan with his hand covering his mouth in a serious, thoughtful pose. "I have to agree with Mai," was his only response.

"I urge you to think about it, at least!" Neither of the stone-cold expressions across from him so much as flinched, and so he changed tactics. "You know," he said, folding his hands on his belly and casting his eyes down at the floor coyly, "I am not so young as I once was. My years are slipping away quickly. With my son gone..." He paused for dramatic effect. "... I no longer have any hope of becoming a grandfather. But perhaps... if I were a great-uncle..."

He peered upwards briefly to gauge his nephew's expression and could not help but be pleased with himself. The result was a cross between guilt, exasperation, and amazement. Guilt – because he knew his uncle was right, and because his uncle was the closest he had ever had to a real father. Exasperation – because he knew his uncle was right, and because he had no good argument against Iroh's statement. And amazement – because he could not believe that his uncle would really pull this card on him. Iroh shrugged meekly and assumed a docile demeanor.

"It's just that... I had always hoped to have the privilege of spoiling young ones as a loving grandfather – though," he added with a pretended quickness, displaying his open palms to the couple seated across from him, "I would just as thoroughly enjoy spoiling great-nieces and -nephews!"

Zuko nodded with more than just a small amount of cynicism. "Yeah, I'm sure you would."

Mai roughly elbowed her husband in his side. "Zuko!" she scolded.

"He's pulling our strings, Mai!"

"Zuko!"

"I'm telling you, don't fall for it!"

"_Zuko_."

Iroh had heard this voice before, and he recognized it. Zuko obviously did, too, because he immediately clamped his mouth shut and slumped back in the divan, crossing his arms in front of him.

"I mean to cause no argument between you two-" Iroh began to apologize, but Mai interrupted him with a single, slender hand in the air.

"No need," she assured him. "All is well. I appreciate your sentiment, and I assure you that your concerns will be considered and addressed." Zuko groaned, earning himself another elbow in the ribs, which only served to elicit yet another groan from the tortured Fire Lord.

"Fire Lady Mai, you are most gracious," Iroh said, bowing his head respectfully. "That is all I ask."

"Yeah," Zuko huffed. "I bet – ow!"

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"You know, you didn't have to agree with him so quickly," Zuko grumbled to his wife as they readied themselves for bed that evening. He picked up his pillow and began to fluff it with an intensity that made Mai wonder if he were imagining his uncle as a pillow.

"With whom?" she replied a bit too casually, shrugging her robe from her shoulders and hanging it on a post near the bed. Zuko tried not to notice the way her thin nightgown clung to her curves.

"With _whom_!" he scoffed, throwing his pillow back into place violently. "I'm not ready for kids, Mai."

"That's fine," she said defensively, pulling the comforter back. "I never said I was agreeing with him."

Zuko's shoulders slumped with relief. "Oh, good. So you agree with me, then."

She sat down carefully on the edge of the bed before speaking. "I didn't say that," was her flat response.

Zuko stood, frozen in place, staring at his wife's half-exposed, pale back. "You're kidding, right?"

"I am not."

He was at a loss for words and stood for a moment with his mouth flapping like a fish out of water. He was grateful that his wife faced away from him and didn't see his discomfiture, for he had a strong feeling she would only laugh at him. "But – but–" he babbled nervously. "Are you saying...?"

"I'm not saying _anything_." She paused for a moment and seemed to be studiously analyzing some imprecise point on the floor. "I'm just saying that we're not getting any younger."

"We're not getting _that_ old, either!"

"You are expected to produce an heir, Zuko."

_Expected._ The expectations of a Fire Lord were beginning to weigh down on him, crushing him like an immense weight, like a tidal wave. Now, of course, he had no argument whatsoever against the actions which might produce an heir. Those were certainly a highlight of married life. However, _raising_ an heir...? The very idea was terrifying. Zuko didn't like to admit to fear, especially when it involved picking at old scabs and discussing... shudder... _emotions_.

"I just... I don't..."

"We don't have to decide anything tonight," Mai sighed at last, releasing him from the invisible bonds that were beginning to rob him of air. "Just sleep on it."

"Sure. Yeah. Sleep. Sleep on it. I can... I can do that." He slid into bed with less grace than she did, and they both lay on their backs in silence for a long time, staring at the crimson canopy above their heads.

"It wouldn't be so bad, I think," she said at last.

"What?" He wasn't playing dumb; he had really lost himself in his thoughts so deeply that he nearly forgot she was lying next to him.

"Being parents." He didn't immediately respond, and another, shorter silence ensued. "I think..." She took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I think we would be good parents."

"Yeah," he agreed numbly, because there was nothing else he could do. "I guess."

Her cool, slim hand pressed over his under the covers, and he felt the day's anxieties begin to seep from his bones. "Everything will be all right," she promised him, and as he drifted off to sleep, he found himself wanting desperately to believe her.

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	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks for the reviews... and yes this will be a short-ish fic. Not a one-shot. Carry on!**_

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Twenty-three.

Zuko was just twenty-three. True, men had become fathers even before their twenties, marrying as soon as they turned sixteen and rushing headfirst into the adventure of fatherhood immediately after. But Zuko liked to think of himself as an exception.

He hadn't even proposed to Mai until he was twenty-one, and they had only been married for a little over a year now. He wanted some time alone together before bringing a family into the picture. They had all of the rest of their lives to enjoy a family, but they had only now to enjoy true solitude and peace!

He drummed his fingers on the table nervously, not even bothering to appear interested in the financial report his many advisers were presenting for his information. In the back of his mind, he knew he would probably pay for this later, but his thoughts lay somewhere else entirely. He could not be expected to focus on such menial tasks when the weight of the entire world pressed down upon his shoulders... could he?

One of the older advisers - Fuzak, Zuko thought his name was - droned on and on, reading from a scroll in his low, dry voice, absolutely oblivious to the turmoil in the Fire Lord's head and heart. In the dark recesses of his mind, Zuko found himself wishing the man had an off button.

If he were totally, completely, one hundred percent honest with himself... he was absolutely terrified.

How could he know how to be a good father when his own had been such a cruel and overbearing tyrant? What would prevent him from turning into the very person he hated, and yet loved - in his own, odd way?

_Mai would_.

He shuddered involuntarily at the thought. Mai was capable of keeping him grounded and sane, for the most part. Yet his mother was such a loving, caring, sensitive person... Why had even _she_ not been able to soften his father's calloused heart? Fear crept up in his throat like sour bile, cutting off his air supply.

"This meeting is adjourned," he interrupted abruptly, slamming his flat palm on the table a bit harder than he had intended. His advisers glanced up at him in solemn shock, unable to form any sort of intelligible response to the young Fire Lord's sudden - and quite out of character - outburst. "We'll resume tomorrow," he added quickly before getting to his feet and charging out of the room. Perhaps he owed them an explanation for his rude behavior. Perhaps he didn't. He knew, however, if he had stayed in that room any longer, the walls would have kept closing in, and eventually he would have been swallowed up by his own trepidation and apprehension.

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She was not at all surprised to find him seated casually in front of the duck pond, one leg curled beneath him with his elbow resting on his other bent knee. She knew he must have heard or sensed her approach, though he said nothing at all until she gracefully knelt down next to him.

"I don't think I can do it," he choked out hoarsely.

"Do what?" she prompted softly, though she already knew the answer.

"I can't be a father, Mai."

She tilted her head to the side and peered up at him, keeping her expression calm and neutral. "Why do you believe that, Zuko?"

"I..." He frowned in hesitation. She had a fairly good idea of what he might have to say, but she intended to let him work it out for himself. Whether he realized it or not, the strength of their marriage was based on open communication - communication which she usually provoked with her probing, pointed questions and subtle encouragement.

He sighed deeply and let his head hang. "I don't want to become my father," he confessed at last.

She allowed a brief pause before answering him. "What makes you think you will be like him?"

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," he quoted automatically, continuing to avoid her eyes.

"Zuko." She saw the flicker in his eyes and knew she had his full attention. "You have more than proven that you are a much more gracious and fairer leader than your father was. Your people adore you. You opened their eyes to the monster the Fire nation had become, and you helped them heal."

Zuko had never been very good at taking comments, and this time was no different. "Maybe," he blew her off a bit too casually.

"Besides," she added carefully, "you have me to support you and center you and keep you strong."

His eyes dimmed at her words, but she didn't have long to speculate why. "I thought my mother could do the same, too," he whispered at the ground.

She didn't want to say that his mother had been a spineless woman, even if that was her first inclination. She remembered the way Ursa had bowed submissively to her husband and let him have his way in whatever matter he chose to pursue. She had run away and left Zuko behind, but she had also saved his life - and risked hers in the process. And yet despite that bravery and strength, she had been unable to quench the fire that burned so violently inside Ozai. She chose her next words with great caution.

"Your mother did the best she could with the situation at hand," she began. "She was full of love and caring, but those are not qualities that can tame the sort of man your father was."

"And what qualities might?" he demanded tersely.

"Boldness. Persistence. Stubbornness."

"And these are qualities you possess, I take it."

"Yes," she agreed without hesitation. She watched him mull it over and consider her words for a brief moment, turning it over and over in his mind. "Especially stubbornness," she added with a frankness that sent his eyes darting in her direction.

His stone cold demeanor broke into a weak smile at her attempt to lighten the conversation. "Stubbornness that could match mine?"

"Stubbornness that could _best_ yours," she clarified with the traces of a smile tugging at the corners of her own lips.

He rolled his head from side to side, loosening the muscles in his shoulders as she had seen him do all too often. "I suppose you may be right."

"And you're surprised?" she said casually, pretending to be very interested in her fingernails.

A strong arm tugged her into his lap, and she found herself staring up into his golden eyes. "I love you," he said, his voice thick with sincerity. Her breath caught in her throat, but before she could respond, he silenced her with a deep, meaningful kiss. When they separated, a strange smile had stretched itself across his features. "What say we go work on making that baby right now."

Mai found that she had no good argument against that proposition.

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